Belief still there, insists Gunning as faithful revel in vital win
Eleven points adrift of Kilmarnock, but United defender adamant Tannadice men can beat the drop
WORDS were plentiful in the build-up to this game, but after a stirring victory Gavin Gunning proved ironically short on explanations for the way a turbulent week had panned out at Dundee United.
Tannadice chairman Stephen Thompson had branded the players “abysmal” in a statement that curiously neglected to mention manager Mixu Paatelainen. In addressing the brusque communique, senior player John Rankin appeared to fan the flames of discontent by accusing unnamed teammates of failing to give their all in the club’s desperate battle against relegation.
Yet, against such a fractious backdrop, United pulled out just a fourth league victory of a wretched season. Backed further up against the wall, the Tangerines came out fighting right from the off. An on-field team-talk from captain Paul Paton as kick-off approached was an indication of a togetherness borne of adversity and, though they wobbled as 10-man Hearts staged a second-half comeback, the win proved the perfect riposte.
Asked about Thompson’s outburst, Gunning replied: “It doesn’t bother me. What can you say? That’s football. He pays everyone’s wages.” And Rankin’s charge? “I don’t agree with that. I’ve only played 10 games, so I don’t know. I was pretty s**t in the first five or six and then I started playing well.
“There’s always been spirit here. We’ve always been together, no matter what the fans say or the chairman or whoever. As a squad, we’ve always been together.”
The chairman’s intervention may have been the talk of the town, but Gunning was insistent it was not discussed within the dressing room ahead of Hearts’ visit, even if the sentiments that the players are to blame for their current predicament met with no argument from Gunning.
“Obviously it’s not a good situation we’re in,” he added. “What you get at the end of the season is what you deserve. You can’t blame anyone else. You can blame [previous manager] Jackie [McNamara], you can blame the chairman, you can blame who you want, but at the end of the day it’s the players’ fault if we get relegated. But I don’t think we will.”
That last declaration would have met with guffaws had United not pulled out a defiant victory with a magnificent 30-yard drive from Paton just two minutes from the end of the 90 minutes. Six more minutes of injury-time frayed the nerves but, now 11 points adrift of Kilmarnock, with a game in hand, Gunning remains confident of survival when most others have already condemned the club to the Championship.
“We’ve got a good squad,” he went on. “It’s going to be tough, it’s not going to be easy, is it? We’re going to need to win seven or eight games, maybe, to stay up, which I think we will.
“We’re not going to win every game, we’re not that stupid that we think that. We’re not realistically going to win every game or we wouldn’t be where we are. But if we can get seven wins I think we’ll stay up.”
United merited their half-time lead, provided by Guy Demel’s thumping header from a Scott Fraser corner. Hearts goalkeeper Neil Alexander had magnificently clawed away an Eddie Ofere header earlier but on this occasion could do nothing to prevent United taking the lead.
However, their regular curse of losing a lead struck again just two minutes after the interval. There was nothing gracious about the long punt from Hearts substitute John Souttar, who was roundly booed on his return to his old club, but the way Jamie Walker tamed the pass and rifled his shot into the roof of the net from 18 yards out was a thing of beauty.
The manner in which Hearts then held the upper hand, despite the loss of Jordan McGhee to two first-half yellow cards will have gladdened head coach Robbie Neilson, who disputed the decision and sought out referee Kevin Clancy afterwards.
The 90th-minute dismissal of United substitute Henri Anier for another two quick-fire bookings, the second a needless kick out at Alim Ozturk, ensured the closing moments were even more fraught than they should have been following Paton’s majestic strike. But the full-time whistle was greeted with great gusto by a punch-drunk club bouncing back off the ropes believing they are not yet counted out.
Hearts, on the other hand, failed to find the response they wanted to their midweek Scottish Cup replay defeat to city rivals Hibernian and, for the seventh time this season, were forced to try and withstand a sending off.
“It feels like it’s happened a lot this season,” said winger Sam Nicholson. “You’ve just got to get on with it. We’ve been down to 10 men this season and still won, so we can’t put it down to that. The boys gave their all. When we went down to 10 men we tried to pass it more and, in my opinion, we were the better team in the second half.”